republic-os/legislation/us/states/in/2020/hb-1244.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Unemployment hearings and appeals."
description: "Provides that, in unemployment appeals, the proceedings before an administrative law judge are de novo. Provides that an administrative law judge, review board member, or other individual who adjudicates claims can consider as evidence and include in the record those records of the department of workforce development (department) that are material to the issues being considered in the hearing if the records are made available to the interested parties prior to the hearing through (1) the United States mail or (2) the department's electronic portal. Removes the provision that provides that the department shall define the term \"effort to secure full-time work\". Provides that an individual has made an effort to secure full-time work with respect to any week in which the individual has completed certain activities directed by the department and affirmed that the individual has made an effort to secure full-time work. Requires the department, not later than December 31, 2021, to adopt rules to define (1) the acceptable types of work search activities, (2) the number of work search activities required to be completed in any week, (3) the requirements for producing documentation, and (4) the requirement to apply to, and accept if offered, suitable jobs referred by the department. Provides that 646 IAC 5-9-3 is void and directs the publisher of the Indiana Administrative Code and the Indiana Register to remove the section from the Indiana Administrative Code."
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 1244"
citation: "Indiana HB 1244 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT", "Unemployment Compensation"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ann Vermilion", "Chip Perfect", "Philip Boots"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 24
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2020-01-13"
last_action: "2020-03-30"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b8e5edf8-1e30-4534-b381-51108075bafc"
source_url: "http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2020/bills/house/1244"
source_hash: "94842f47c566be2ee217d5c1f7c6e93fb48b8bc43a54c10a1f831a88ccc15bc5"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana HB 1244 (2020) — Unemployment hearings and appeals.

Provides that, in unemployment appeals, the proceedings before an administrative law judge are de novo. Provides that an administrative law judge, review board member, or other individual who adjudicates claims can consider as evidence and include in the record those records of the department of workforce development (department) that are material to the issues being considered in the hearing if the records are made available to the interested parties prior to the hearing through (1) the United States mail or (2) the department's electronic portal. Removes the provision that provides that the department shall define the term "effort to secure full-time work". Provides that an individual has made an effort to secure full-time work with respect to any week in which the individual has completed certain activities directed by the department and affirmed that the individual has made an effort to secure full-time work. Requires the department, not later than December 31, 2021, to adopt rules to define (1) the acceptable types of work search activities, (2) the number of work search activities required to be completed in any week, (3) the requirements for producing documentation, and (4) the requirement to apply to, and accept if offered, suitable jobs referred by the department. Provides that 646 IAC 5-9-3 is void and directs the publisher of the Indiana Administrative Code and the Indiana Register to remove the section from the Indiana Administrative Code.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Engrossed House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/HB1244/versions/HB1244.04.ENGS)
2. **Enrolled House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/HB1244/versions/HB1244.05.ENRS)
3. **House Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/HB1244/versions/HB1244.02.COMH)
4. **House Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/HB1244/versions/HB1244.03.COMS)
5. **Introduced House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2020/bills/HB1244/versions/HB1244.01.INTR)

## Votes

- HB 1244 - Vermilion A - 3rd Reading — **89–0** (pass) · lower
- HB 1244 - Boots - 3rd Reading — **50–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Ann Vermilion — primary (person)
- Chip Perfect — primary (person)
- Philip Boots — primary (person)
- Daniel Leonard — coauthor (person)
- Lonnie Randolph — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-01-13** Coauthored by Representative Leonard
- **2020-01-13** Authored by Representative Vermilion
- **2020-01-13** First reading: referred to Committee on Employment, Labor and Pensions `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2020-01-28** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-30** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-02-03** Senate sponsor: Senator Boots
- **2020-02-03** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 166: yeas 89, nays 0 `reading-3, passage`
- **2020-02-04** Referred to the Senate
- **2020-02-17** First reading: referred to Committee on Pensions and Labor `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2020-02-27** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2020-03-02** Amendment #2 (Boots) prevailed; voice vote `amendment-passage, amendment-failure`
- **2020-03-02** Amendment #4 (Boots) prevailed; voice vote `amendment-passage, amendment-failure`
- **2020-03-02** Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-03-02** Senator Perfect added as second sponsor
- **2020-03-02** Senator Randolph added as cosponsor
- **2020-03-03** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 303: yeas 50, nays 0 `reading-3, passage`
- **2020-03-04** Returned to the House with amendments `amendment-failure`
- **2020-03-04** Motion to concur filed
- **2020-03-05** House concurred in Senate amendments; Roll Call 323: yeas 87, nays 0 `amendment-failure`
- **2020-03-10** Signed by the Speaker
- **2020-03-12** Signed by the President Pro Tempore
- **2020-03-18** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2020-03-18** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`
- **2020-03-30** Public Law 119

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b8e5edf8-1e30-4534-b381-51108075bafc`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).